Splinter Cell: Operation Rogue Mercury
by DaddyLongLegs44
Summary: The worlds most elite anti-terror teams will need to work together to track and find the Rogue Mercury bomb from the JBA's famed but failed attempts to "set the world on fire." New and existing characters from the Tom Clancy universe will eventually be present. I own none of the Tom Clancy characters!
1. Prologue: Mexican Stand Off

Splinter Cell Operation Rogue Mercury

March 06, 2008

1:13 A.M.

Mexico City, Mexico

NSA operative's field house

* * *

"You see him?" Agent Lopez asked after shoving another bite of enchiladas in his mouth.

The man leaning on the third story window seal frustratingly exhaled, "Again, no I don't see him. Believe me if I do I'll say something." Agent Rubio wiped the sleep from his eyes before replacing the binoculars back into position, "he should have left his apartment by now though," he examined his watch which read 1:14 in the morning.

Agent Lopez leaned over Rubio sprinkling crumbs on his shoulder, "there! Who's that?!" A man exited the apartment complex that was across the wide traditional cobblestone street.

Rubio cursed as he shoved Lopez off of him to regain his focus on the front door. He refocused the lens that was trained on the man leaving the complex. _Hmmm… shit._ "Not him, look." He handed Lopez the binoculars who also confirmed that the man wasn't their target who was Lieutenant Colonel Ontiveros.

The Lieutenant Colonel has grabbed the NSA's attention over the years. He's been holding secret meetings with military leaders, however they were not so secret after NSA agents bugged them, and he's been talking of establishing a coup to over throw the government which would further throw the country into chaos.

"Didn't the bastard say he was leaving soon?" Lopez said as he plopped down into a chair next to the phone tapping machine. He placed the headset on and replayed their targets last phone call.

Agent Rubio cursed again under his breath, _"Ellos no pagan lo suficiente para esto."_

Suddenly a convoy of military vehicles rushed down the sleepy Mexican street then halted right in front of the apartment complex. Men dressed in combat fatigues ran into the apartment foyer and immediately returned with the Lieutenant Colonel and ushered him in a vehicle. The convoy was gone just as quickly as it arrived. Both agents starred at each other in bewilderment.

Suddenly their opsats poked their wrists and buzzed slightly. They simultaneously read the text that read _URGENT! _They looked at each other with disbelief. Rubio jumped from his seat near the window and Lopez choked down the last bit of enchilada before grabbing their gear and dashing out the door.

* * *

_Urgent! Proceed to 219__th__ street and Calle de Flores Street immediately. Scrub all current tasks. You are to regroup with and aid the Mexican Special Forces in the raid of Massoud Ibin-Yussif's compound and to assist them in disabling a nuclear warhead. You are now under command of Lieutenant Colonel Ontiveros and his subordinates. Do not allow the terrorist cell to detonate the warhead and do not allow the warhead to fall into the Mexican Army's hands. -Third Echelon._

* * *

After a brisk drive to the cross streets the two agents were met by a blockade of Army troopers. They flashed the soldiers their I.D.s and were escorted to a team of Mexican spec ops.

Both agents were now wide awake given their dangerous predicament. Disabling a nuclear bomb while under control of the crazy Lieutenant Colonel Ontiveros that they've been stalking was probably the last scenario they ever imagined.

Lopez leaned in close to Rubio's ear and whispered, "Keep cool man, let's not blow our cover okay?"

"How about we worry about this nuclear fucking bomb amigo." He exclaimed. Lopez nodded agreeing.

The captain of the spec ops squad greeted the agents hastily and proceeded to brief them along with his men. They were to raid the large complex killing all occupants while finding their way to the bomb. Then comes the tricky part, the American agents are to disable the bomb and deliver it to the Lieutenant Colonel immediately.

Lopez and Rubio were intently listening to the Captain when a pair of hands slapped upon their shoulders. They spun around only to be face to face with Ontiveros. "Welcome Americans. I'm sure you were handpicked specifically from your embassy to aid us in quelling this terrorist threat to my homeland. I'm also sure you men have extensive experience in counter-terrorism and EOD. Good luck Americans." He smirked and walked towards an awaiting vehicle probably for his extraction out of the city. "Oh and captain, make sure I get that bomb." The Captain saluted the Lieutenant Colonel and then he was gone. Lopez's heart almost stopped after coming face to face with Ontiveros. Rubio wiped the sweat from his brow thanking his lucky stars that Ontiveros didn't recognize them from close up surveillance work that they've done in the past. Lopez felt panicky and began chewing at his nails.

"Rubio I've never disabled a bomb before, I've actually never killed anybody in my entire life!" Lopez blurted out.

Rubio looked at him with wide eyes, "You lied to me? What happened to you being a badass splinter cell you idiot?"

"I've never actually said that I did all of those things in real life. I scored an A+ rating from Grim herself, during training simulation." Lopez said embarrassed.

"Sims! You bragged about sims training?! I can't believe you Lopez! You do know how to disable a class 3 bomb though don't you?" Rubio began to sweat profusely.

Lopez placed a hand on his shoulder attempting to reassure him, "Of course I know, I just never have done it in the real world." A few commandos' jaws dropped after over hearing their new bomb squads experience.

The Captain intervened before the agents killed each other or before they caused a panic attack amongst the commandoes. "Americans please get ready we're moving out in five minutes."

They suited up and were given a pair of old 1911s with a few magazines. The Captain spoke up, "we'll ride in through the front gate and breach the front door. Alex you're tasked with reading the radiation levels, lead us to the bomb. Americans, stay behind us we're tasked with keeping you alive so please keep our objective from failing okay? Alright let's go!" The men jumped into a pair of SUVS and sped off the Captain called the operation to move forward and not two seconds later explosions rocked the street as assault teams breached the compounds defenses. Several large warehouses and barracks were within the gated complex and all buildings were being assaulted all at once by Army personnel and spec ops. The lead SUV sped up and rammed the main gate open. The team spilled out of the SUVs and began assaulting the main door to the large Mexican mansion that was the main building in the entire complex and the most probable location for the nuclear bomb. Automatic fire ripped up the courtyard. Lopez sprinted for the front door where the Captain was placing breaching charges.

"Hey where's your friend, American?"

Lopez looked over his shoulder seeing only a few commandos but no Rubio.

_Fuck. _Lopez flinched at every crack of gun fire as he strained to find his partner in the courtyard. "There he is!" Rubio was pinned down underneath one of the SUVs that was in the middle of the courtyard right next to a beautiful fountain that was now peppered with bullet holes. "Rubio get your brown ass over here!" Rubio replied but Lopez couldn't hear him over the deafening gunfire. Suddenly the front door was blown open and the commandos went in firing all over the place. Lopez motioned for Rubio to run for it after he stepped out into the courtyard to lay down suppressive fire at one of the buildings windows. Rubio scrambled out from under the SUV and dove inside the building. Lopez fallowed reloading his 1911. The building looked like an old, but rich, Mexican styled country home with faded paintings lining the foyer and a great chandelier that hung over head. They could hear the other teams assaulting the warehouses and barracks that were disguised as multi storied apartments. The entire complex must have been huge, but even though they've been stationed nearby they would have never guessed the gated community was a terrorist safe haven. Rubio and Lopez scanned their surroundings, bullet holes riddled the walls and once they exited the foyer they saw a few enemy and friendly bodies lying around the social room. The team was nowhere in sight.

"Hey," Lopez whispered, "you ever seen a dead guy before?" He gulped.

Rubio rolled his eyes. "Yes just now," Rubio demanded Lopez's attention, "focus Lopez there's a fucking nuclear bomb here man and we need to disarm it then keep it from falling into the wrong hands which is everyone at the moment. Okay?" Lopez nodded then raised the team on his radio asking what their location was. After receiving instructions Lopez led Rubio down a hallway that led to a stairwell which descended deep in the earth. The sound of automatic fire was thunderous in the confined underground as they reached the bottom level.

The team was fighting it out in the bowels of the city where pipes ran in every which direction and where rooms opened up to large laboratories which looked like medieval chemistry sets.

Lopez grabbed Rubio's attention before they advanced forward to regroup with their team, "Listen man once we disarm the bomb, if we disarm it, we'll need to kill our own team. I mean how else are we supposed to keep it out of Ontiveros hands?"

Rubio chewed on his chapped lip, "Fuck! I've been thinking a way around that for a while but there's just no way we can get that bomb out of here in our hands. Shit this is messed up amigo." But Rubio agreed. They didn't want to betray their 'thrown together' team but at least it would look like the terrorists got them.

The Captain called on their radios asking for them to move up through the maze, they think they found the bomb.

After a few minutes of zigzagging through large damp tunnels they found their team inside a room that was glowing red in light. Rubio entered noticing the many dead scientists on the ground bathed in their own blood but it was hard to distinguish blood from other liquids because of the red heat lamps that surrounded the room. Lopez entered right behind him and fallowed the Captain deeper into the room until they fell upon what looked to be a large pot bellied oven. Only two commandos made it along with the Captain. The commando named Alex spoke up, "This is giving off large radiation waves Americans. So this is your bomb. I disassembled the remote detonation device here, but it is up to you to disarm and remove the bomb from the shell."

Rubio nodded and examined the bomb's shell. _Cast iron, sturdy of course. A panel here showing the bombs information, looks like we're in no rush. The top bay is closed, but don't open it until you know what's underneath. Okay here we go._

"Lopez calibrate your opsat to see what's inside. Then I'll see if I can open this thing up." Lopez began running his opsat's x-ray over the bomb creating a digital blueprint. It looked complicated.

"We'll have to hack the bomb just to open the top so we can extract the canister, then we can pull out the bombs contents which I don't want to do since it's radioactive. We get exposed to this and we'll all die." Lopez stated.

The Captain walked over to a dead scientist and took off the dead man's hazmat suit then threw it to Lopez. Gore dripped and oozed out of the opening. Lopez cursed under his breath and instead cut off the gloved hands and put them on. He motioned to Rubio who began hacking the device. _Okay 34…96…Oh shit! Fuck that was close…19… and, done! With 2.7 seconds to spare._

Rubio placed his opsat back on his wrist and Lopez did the same with his. The two agents made eye contact and nodded slightly just as Alex and the Captain pulled out their knives behind the two working agents. With a swift draw of the gun and pivot both Agents had their guns down on the astonished commandos. Once Rubio saw the knives in their hands his blood began to boil. He squeezed the trigger sending the .45 caliber round into Alex's forehead. The Captain leapt to his left dodging Lopez's round but before he could fire again the Captain lunged at him and buried his knife deep into Lopez's chest.

"FUCK!" Lopez screamed as he felt warm liquid seep into his clothing. The last man guarding outside burst into the room and released a sporadic burst of gun fire causing Rubio to hit the ground, roll then fire three consecutive rounds into the man's chest dropping him immediately. Rubio got up to a knee seeing the Captain withdraw his knife from Lopez's body. Rubio released three rounds into the Captain until the slide locked back on his pistol. The Captain buckled and screamed as he was getting shot but he looked up into Rubio's eyes with fire burning in his own. He charged Rubio but was easily subdued with a fist to the nose and then a violent twist of his neck. Bones snapped signifying his death. _Fuck, fuck, fuck! _"Lopez!" Rubio fell down at Lopez's side. He was breathing shallowly. Rubio knew Lopez didn't have much time as the knife pierced his heart and his left lung. Lopez looked into Rubio's eyes with agony as he clenched Rubio's jacket pulling on the fabric in a panic. "Lopez please tell me what to do! I don't- I don't know what to fucking do!" Lopez was wreathing in pain on the floor without making a sound, he couldn't as his lungs couldn't receive any oxygen. Rubio breathed heavily as Lopez's grip seized and relaxed. Rubio felt Lopez's eyes look past him as life left him. "Lopez?" Tears swelled in his eyes as he began to weep. Rubio cursed while clenching his friend's blood soaked hand. He knew he couldn't handle this type of work. He trained for intelligence, strictly observational, but now he was thrown into a situation only meant for a soldier. _It's not fair man. It wasn't supposed to be like this._ Tears rolled down his face. Suddenly Rubio heard echoes far down into the tunnels. _Men yelling orders_. Rubio wiped the tears from his eyes and climbed up to the bomb. With a swift pull from the top the entire bombs contents came out in a transparent vile. _How can a nuke be this small?_ The echoing voices neared closer. Rubio reloaded his pistol and wrapped the contents in the disposed hazmat suit then he collected Lopez's opsat and left the room. The voices were coming from the house's stairwell. Rubio decided to go the opposite direction through the maze of tunnels.

After a few minutes of running the tunnels eventually became filled ankle high with water. The voices were still on his heels. Rubio kept up the pace shuffling through the water until he heard a roaring rush of water up ahead. To his dismay the tunnel dropped down into a dark abyss as this tunnel connected with the city's sewer lines. _Fuck me. _The echoing voices of his pursuers were nearing. They knew exactly where he was going. _They're tracking the bomb's radioactivity. _Rubio unwrapped the vile and took a good long look at it for the first time. It was red and it looked like a liquid. _How can this be a nuclear bomb? _He took a look over his shoulder then tossed the vile into the abyss. It floated for a second only to sink into darkness. Rubio silently wadded down another tunnel where no voices could be heard bouncing off the walls. He continued to venture through the maze until he reached a ladder that led to the surface. Popping off the manhole cover Rubio gave his surroundings one good check then he bolted out and ran down the empty street only to stop once, he raised the opsat to his mouth and pressed the talk button. "This is Agent Rubio, mission complete," he heaved in and out before finishing, "Agent Lopez is dead. Get me out of here."

The voice on the other end replied, "An extraction team has been dispatched. Hold current location, you're coming home."

* * *

Please leave a quick review! Thanks for reading!


	2. 3E to 4E: The New Echelon Summary

_After 3__rd__ Echelon's disbandment the National Security Agency launched a massive investigation into it's so called "small operatives wing"._

_Under Lambert 3__rd__ Echelon was exactly what it was supposed to be, small and precise, however under Tom Reed he inflated the agency turning it into _

_his personal army. Unconstitutional to say the least, the NSA launched many secret investigations into the growing agency. Their efforts were _

_stymied by NSA agents that were bought out by Upper Echelon spies who were loyal to Reed and the new agencies intentions. However after 3__rd_

_Echelons terrorist attack on The United States and the President the NSA launched the largest national investigation ever conducted on an American agency. _

_They uncovered the Black Arrow, 3__rd__ Echelon, and Vice President relationship and began hunting down those responsible for crimes against the State. _

_Many 3__rd__ Echelon operatives and personnel were tried and convicted in the court of law many others were found innocent of any involvement, then _

_there was the Upper Echelon operatives who vanished taking their secrets with them. Amidst the fall of 3__rd__ Echelon the U.S. government relied on the _

_NSA and CIA agencies to gather intelligence on terrorist networks and hostile countries. The President soon realized the troubles inherited when _

_having bloated government agencies conduct the precise and fragile work that 3__rd__ Echelon was keen to. She instead ordered the formation of 4__th_

_Echelon to take over these high priority intelligence missions. While Reed's 3__rd__ Echelon was like a second CIA agency, 4__th__ Echelon _

_was small and reported only to the President who then was later convinced by the NSA director to have the agency report to him as well. Keeping the _

_new Echelon under a watchful eye was the NSA's main priority given their recent fallout, however the President knew she didn't have to worry since _

_the new Director of the agency was Sam Fisher. Fisher cut the agency down to a new low and slowly rebuilt it with people he and Grim could trust. _

_Slowly but surely 4__th__ Echelon began to look like its old counterpart, Lambert's 3__rd__ Echelon. _


	3. New Beginnings

_June 16__th__, 2015_

_11:51 A.M. _

_Washington D.C._

* * *

NSA Head Quarters

Disbanded 3rd Echelon Special Field Agent David McGee sat in the office of NSA Special Agent Johnathan Carmichael. John sat across from David thumbing through papers stopping at the occasional one only to read over it briskly then move on to the next sheet. The Office was quiet, small, and relatively blank save for the fake plant in the corner of the room. The absence of windows and no phone reception was the hint David received on his way to Johns office that this was a classified floor. No one gets in and no one gets out without stage 5 security clearance.

David thought back towards this morning as John dug through the mounds of paper work in front of him. The morning _was_ going well, that is until three NSA agents showed up at his apartment. Being in great physical health, David found work on an oil rig in the frozen plains of North Dakota. It was the only job he could get after being exiled from the agency and being barred from all other federal jobs. The agents requested him to accompany them to the airport on a private flight to somewhere unknown. Once in D.C. he knew exactly where he was going and was all too familiar with the building he was in now.

John coughed and wiped his glasses clean before diving back into an open folder that read _classified._ David took a good long look at this "Special" agent, _nothing to special about the desk jockey and according to the thickness of his glasses he can't see shit._

Johnathan was of average height and was slimmed down and cut to the bone. He qualified for Field work in all categories, only his vision kept him from making the last step from becoming a true field agent. John continued to read through David's papers when he suddenly looked up from his glasses, "What were you doing in Paris, France on the night of 3rd Echelons terrorist attack on the white house?"

David sat up clearing his throat, "Uh well, I was conducting intelligence retrieval on a bank the _La Fierre _if I remember correctly. Agent Ramirez issued the order…"

John interrupted, "Yea I know who issued you the order to break into the bank, but why were you doing it? What was your objective?" He leaned in starring at David intensively.

David shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He didn't like talking about his 3rd Echelon past. When he served his nation as an Air force Chief Analyst he felt like he could do more and much better work so after his Air Force career he decided to go Federal. 3rd Echelon picked him up from the CIA and trained him into a top notch Splinter Cell or "intelligence interceptor". That at least is the name they gave you on paper. "I was on assignment to break into the bank and gather the bank's register list. I was to forward the information back to Agent Ramirez after I personally hacked the system." He swallowed hard knowing what he did was illegal after he was arrested, but didn't know it was not sanctioned while doing it.

John frowned, "well I must be confused David because here, right here," he pointed with emphasis to a paragraph on paper, "It says you were there to grab the names of the banks elite payers and THEN plant a virus into the system to then track them down and…" He waited for David to finish his sentence.

"I don't know anything about a virus sir nor do I know what the agency planned on doing with the names I received."

John sat back in his chair and cracked a smile, "Bullshit."

David's eyes widened. "Excuse me sir?" He's been through all of this before time and time again with NSA investigators. "I've been cleared multiple times of any criminal involvement so I'm not going to sit here and listen to your damned opinions sir."

John slammed his fists down onto his desk, "you were working hand in hand with an Upper Echelon agent! You knew what was going on!" John began leaning over the desk. "You're not some dumb animal David! You knew exactly what Ramirez intended to do with that information and i want to know if you knew about it or not." John looked unto David's now simmering demeanor, yet he remained silent. "Well then, I guess you really are absent minded and ignorant to your fucking surroundings to not notice your mission's TRUE objectives."

David exploded from his seat prompting John to do the same. David leaned in close over the desk and pointed a finger in John's face, "I was in the dark. I WAS doing my job that WAS sanctioned by 3rd Echelon and I had no reason to doubt my superior at the time. My mission's objectives did not include assassination nor did it require me to plant a virus in the bank. I was to seek who the banks buyers were and that was it." David turned from John and started for the door.

John's voice boomed past David, "I'm not done! You take one step outside this room and I'll have you arrested and sent to the smallest darkest cell I can find in Gitmo!" John clenched his fists.

David paused taking in a deep breath. He turned around facing Johnathan and threw up his arms, "Tell me then why are you talking with me? What am I doing here? I've served my country proudly and all of a sudden I'm considered and treated like a traitor, again!" There was an awkward silence for a moment. John took a deep breath of air, restoring normal color to his reddened face, calming him down.

Jonathan wiped the sweat from his forehead and plopped back down in his seat. He took another deep breath and looked back up to David, "Would you please take a seat before I have a fucking aneurysm?" David was hesitant but reluctantly did so given he didn't have a choice. "Okay look, I've been tasked to read through your previous training and background missions while in 3rd Echelon and during your time in the CIA." A confused look swept over David's face. "I'm to recruit you for a mission." David's heart began to race.

"A mission for who? The NSA?"

John shook his head and looked David in the eye, "A mission for 4th Echelon." David's face lit up.

* * *

Tell me what you think about this new Splinter Cell. There is more to come. This story is not only about my made up character but given that there isn't many known Splinter Cells, and Sam Fisher is getting older and has bigger responsibilities, I had to make one up. Please review and thanks for reading! Fallow too if you wish, no harm done if you do.


	4. Remember the Barn?

_After the quarrel between the two agents, John briefed David over the JBA's attempts to detonate three nuclear devices in New York, Los Angeles, and Mexico City. That was known by almost everybody, but what David didn't know was that the red mercury in Mexico City was lost and wasn't recovered. 3rd Echelon forgot about the red mercury while under Reeds control. The Mexican revolution in 2013 along with the Engineers' attacks on America further pushed the red mercury out of the agencies mind. Finally a NSA analyst unburied a 3rd Echelon file showing the accounts of the raid on Massoud Ibin-Yussif's compound. The analyst was shocked to find that the red mercury was lost and not recovered in the city's sewer system. The NSA director wanted to send a unit to Mexico City immediately to find the mercury and bring it back to the States. However after the Mexican war American forces were not going to be openly welcomed and press would be all over the NSA agents so the task was left up to 4th Echelon. A quiet unofficial mission is what the director wanted and they needed a team to do it. _

* * *

After the briefing David sat there both excited and shocked over his new status, 4th Echelon Splinter Cell. He'll have to go through another training session to prove his Field operational status, but other than that he is now back in the agency. David cleared his throat before speaking, "So sir, who will I be working with?"

Johnathan cracked another smile from the corner of his mouth, "I'm to be your mission's handler and we'll have 4th Echelon support personnel with us too. I'm picking this team specifically David so I hope you won't disappoint. All I have to do now is interview two more men and we'll be mission ready." Agent Carmichael opened a folder reveling papers that have been blackened out by CIA censors. "For now though you're to be on a plane to the Barn, try not to be too rusty." Johnathan stood up and shook David's hand. "I'm glad to have you on the team. I know that your past with 3rd Echelon was in no way related with Reed, I just had to make sure of it for the Director's sake." And with that David left the office of his newly acquainted mission's handler and was escorted to the airport where a private plane took him to the CIA's training facility otherwise known as the Barn.

While on the flight soaring high above the clouds, David couldn't think of anything else at the moment except for his previous "sessions" at the Barn. It was cruel, extremely unusual, and often mentally scarring. He was trained to withstand certain tortures and to deny any information if captured and interrogated. He was trained in the art of concealment and how to use the shadows to hide from enemies. Learning how to fight using Krav Maga was another memory that he thought back too. Sam Fisher was his instructor at the time, but instead of being a Splinter Cell candidate David was in the CIA. He remembered back when he had to attack Sam for training purposes.

David was in a room filled with men and women circled around their instructor. "Now come at me any way you want kid." Sam's voice was unique and intimidating unlike many of the young 'special agent' wannabe's who were attending his class. "Use what I taught you and apply any previous skills to compliment your takedown."

"Uh, half speed or…?"

"Full. As lethal as you can be, try to incapacitate me." A grin flashed across Sam's face.

_I don't want to hurt the guy but…he did say try._

David threw his neck side to side cracking it. He took in his instructor's stance. It was solid yet elegant like he could float away at any second. However he looked lethal the way his arms were raised with open palms facing David, ready to deflect any punches. David took a step forward throwing a straight jab at Sam's face knowing it was to be deflected, then he dropped and performed a leg sweep with a wide kick sending Sam's legs out from under him however instead of landing on his back he pivoted in midair and landed in a crouched position. Now face to face, Sam grabbed David's face and thrusted him back onto his ass. Sensing a grapple or tap out maneuver David rolled onto his back, to his shoulders then he pushed himself up using the momentum to put himself on his feet in a split second. Readying himself for a charging Sam, David threw his hands up preparing to deflect any punches yet none came. David stood shocked looking forward where Sam should have been but wasn't. Spinning 360 degrees didn't reveal him either meaning he was hiding in the crowd of students surrounding him. _ He could strike from anywhere. _David thought. Preparing himself for an attack from all sides, David waited for him. Suddenly he caught a scent of him, he smelt of a minty fragrance from a body wash or something, so he spun around yet there was no Fisher. Hands wrapped around David's neck in a vice like grip. An exclaimed yelp escaped from his mouth as Fisher responded, "Dead." He dropped from the rafters from above that gave the Barn's hand-to-hand combat center it's informal and unfriendly look.

David stood there wide eyed looking up above noticing the dark hiding space that Sam took advantage of. Sam spoke up silencing the students who were commenting on their teacher's skills in evasion, "As a lone operative your best bet to survival is not on brute force, but instead on cunning tactics. Evade, strike, and survive all in the cover of darkness. That is your home your sanctuary if you find yourself in danger. So sure you young kids could probably out muscle me, but can you out maneuver me?" Sam winked at David and cracked a smile. "Class dismissed."

David wiped the sweat from his forehead after coming back to reality. So all in all, the Barn was intense and he wasn't sure if he was looking forward to it or was instead dreading it.

* * *

_June 16th, 2015_

_2:52 P.M. _

_Somewhere in Virginia_

Private landing strip outside the Barn

* * *

The plane touched down at a private landing strip somewhere in Virginia. Its exact whereabouts remain classified though. Two men came aboard and escorted David towards the hangar where a black sedan was waiting for him. The windows were blackened out in the back and a reinforced divider sat between him and the driver, sort of like the ones in cop cars yet this one was solid metal. The two escorts sat on both sides of David too, their broad shoulders forcing David to hunch forward. _Hmm…I remember there being a potato sack being thrown over my face the last time. I wonder if they're getting softer on the training. _After a short drive the sedan made an abrupt stop throwing David's face into the metal divider. _Ouch. _Suddenly the man on the left of David opened his door and grabbed David by the neck dragging him out violently. The second guy pushed him and once out they threw him hard to the ground and leaned in close, "Welcome to the Barn old man." The other man chuckled as they both climbed back in the sedan and sped off. _Old man? I'm only in my thirties. _But most men and women in this profession never got to see themselves turn thirty. David stood up and brushed himself off as he observed the large warehouse complex that contained all the goodies the Barn was famous for.

"Well there's no turning back now." He walked up to the rustic looking door that led into the lobby. Grabbing the door knob and heaving in one last breath of fresh air, he opened the door and entered the Barn.


	5. Shaking Off The Rust

_June 16th, 2015_

_4:00 P.M. _

_Somewhere in Virginia_

CIA training facility

* * *

Greetings were warm and fuzzy between him and the man holding the Taser that sent 50,000 volts of electricity through him. Wide eyed and incapacitated, David saw a group of men approach him only to throw a bag over his head and heave him up and off to some undisclosed location. _Well, that explains the absence of the bag in the car. _The men dumped David on his back and all he could hear was their footsteps then a door slam shut. He ripped off the bag and stood up. Blinding white light met his eyes as a voice reverberated off the walls of the tiny white tiled room.

"David McGee you are now a candidate for retraining in a classified government operations wing. Participating in this retraining course could result in injury or death to your person for which the United States Government and its affiliated agencies are not responsible for. Do you understand? Good. Please continue through the red door to your left."

The red door opened up to a long and dark hallway with one way glass lining the whole way. A sound was heard in David's ear. It sounded like a high pitched ringing then static. He rubbed his ear when the thought hit him. _They're reactivating my subdermal implant. _

"Hey can you hear me David?" It was Johnathan.

"Yes sir, loud and clear."

"Good. We're going to put you through three tests here just to shake the rust off okay? First test is simple you're to navigate through this hallway and enter the door at the end. You cannot make any noise okay? Good luck."

_No noise? _David focused in the low light and noticed broken glass covering the floor. _Damn._ He looked up and noticed a pipe running the length of the hallway but there were chains and other junk hanging from the ceiling too. David tip toed forward avoiding the chunks of glass until he felt he could make a comfortable wall jump up to the pipe. He performed a wall split to get up to the pipe and grabbed on only to slip off sending him back to the ground. He absorbed the shock of the landing by crouching as he made contact with the ground, fortunately he didn't land on any glass. _Pipes greased, just great. _This time he wall split then he quickly grabbed the pipe and threw his legs around it in order to not lose his grip. He snaked the course of the hallway avoiding the chains that hung all around him. He made a dismount at the end and entered the door.

The room looked like the same white tiled room before but this time it contained a small round table with a gun and opsat on top. Johnathan came in over the net, "This test requires a little more strength over finesse, I think. Take a terrorist leader hostage while staying undetected. That's all I can tell you. The pistol contains simunition and the opsat has a map of the area. Good luck." It sounded like John was reading his objectives from a flash card.

David put the opsat over his wrist and opened up the map. It was a single story warehouse with a loft that had a clear view of the bottom area. He closed the map and checked the pistol which was a Glock 22 chambered in .40 caliber. He tucked the pistol away in his cargo pants and opened the door to the next test. The surrounding area was a mechanics warehouse filled with broken down car parts and tools scattered about. It was dark, messy, and quiet. David crouched down and advanced forward into the warehouse. Five CIA operatives were brought in to serve as "terrorists". They were told to protect the leader and to scan the warehouse periodically for intruders. One of them was going down a row of shelves stacked with tools and buckets of grease. He was about to round the corner when a hand reached out from the side slapping him in the throat stunning his vocal cords then he was thrown to the ground. A choke hold was immediately thrown around his neck before he could react. David whispered in his ear, "Tell me where your leader is and you won't get hurt."

The guy on the ground replied, "How-about you throw in a _please_ and we could talk." David squeezed his wind pipe making him gag. "Okay! Okay! Damn you guys take this training stuff seriously. He's up in the loft on the, uh, I think the east side?" He motioned left with his head.

David smiled, "Thanks bud, but uh, you do know that I can't let you go right?"

"Wait what?!" David put the guy to sleep. He confirmed his suspicions to where their leader was now he just needed to get up there. David continued to creep through the warehouse coming upon another roaming terrorist who he avoided. Coming up to the loft he saw a large ventilation shaft. He pulled up the 3D map and found that the shaft led up to the loft. He crawled up the shaft keeping his footing when he reached the loft he peered through the shaft opening and saw a guy standing near a window that overlooked the warehouse's interior. _Gotcha. _David leapt from the vent and drew his gun. The man spun around with a shocked expression on his face. Hazel eyes met his yet that's all David could see cause the man was cladded in black along with a balaclava only revealing his eyes.

David rose his gun and placed a finger over his lips whispering, "Shhh." The guy nodded yet his eyes broke off of his and darted towards the door that led to the loft. David glanced over and noticed it was still closed yet there was a creak on the outside of the door. David closed the distance and grabbed the guy hostage. The guy was light and was easily maneuvered to act as a bullet shield if need be. He waited for an entry team of some sort but none came. "Are you the leader?" David whispered and the leader nodded. David told Johnathan that the leader was captured.

"Okay test complete, I guess. That seemed easy." Johnathan sounded surprised.

David released his hostage and replied, "Yea, I guess I'm not that rusty after all."

The leader turned around and faced David. He took off his balaclava reveling that _he_ was actually a _she_. _Anna Grimsdottir. _She rubbed her neck and looked David in the eye, "Good job McGee, I wasn't expecting that move at all." She whistled and four guys walked in. "They were setting an ambush for you at the top of the stair case but you avoided it cleanly." She nodded her head in approval. "You past the test and have one more to go before you're ready, Tyler, escort Agent McGee to the final testing center." A CIA agent nodded and waved for David to fallow him. As David left the room he wanted to apologize for throwing a hard arm around her neck but knew that she wouldn't accept it. She would think apologizing for that would be ridiculous. The test was being set up again for some reason as he was escorted to another door. _It must be for the other two Splinter Cells that Johnathan picked out. _

He was led to a pool that was twenty feet deep. It was scuba training. David suited up and donned the scuba gear and was met by a trainer. "You're to be rushed through this section for some reason sir, but don't worry I'll prepare you the best I can." The young trainer was bulking with muscles. _Oh great. _ "You're to recover this bottle sir," He showed him a water bottle filled with concrete, "return to the surface with this and you're done." _Easy enough. _The trainer called out a few names and two guys appeared with scuba gear on too. They also had a bag full of dye that they dumped into the pool turning it into a murky brown color. David looked at the trainer and shook his head, "I'll need a flashlight."

"No sir, you'll need this." He gave him a Geiger counter. "The bottles core has a small radiation trace on it and you're to detect it using that device only." He looked over at the other two divers and nodded. They jumped into the pool and disappeared under the surface. "Good luck sir."

David waddled over to the edge of the pool and peered down into the mucky brown water. _So this is supposed to represent the Mexican sewer? _He put in the breathing respirator and jumped in. The Geiger counter was advanced. It was showing the placement of the radioactive material instead of just showing the intensity. David swam down until he caught movement to his left. He paused starring off into the darkness knowing that those divers were either there to help monitor him or make things harder. A large blow struck him in the right side forcing him to cough out his respirator. He twirled in the water seeing nothing. After trailing the respirator line to his mouth piece he attempted to place it in his mouth but couldn't. _Don't panic, you'll just burn your oxygen. _He retraced his line and found out it was tied to his oxygen tank. _Sneaky bastards. _He untangled the knot and placed the respirator back in his mouth and began diving again. When he finally reached the water bottle he secured it and began the ascension. He saw movement again and made out the faint lining of a diver. The guy was swimming at him ready to send another blow into David, but this time David reached out and smacked the guy's goggles off his head throwing him off balance. Another second past and they were bobbing on the surface.

The trainer helped David out of the water while the other two divers surfaced. One of them had red irritated eyes from the dye. The trainer led him to the locker room to get dressed and to await further command from his handler. While in the locker room David couldn't help but think about the Mexican revolution and what it's done between American and Mexican relations. He remembered the nuclear devices that were prepared to launch yet they were destroyed before they could devastate America. There's still a lot of resentment towards America for getting involved in the war. However what other alternative was there?

After getting fully dressed back in his civilian clothes, still heavily insulated since he couldn't change out his winter wear, David met Johnathan in the ops center where video monitors replayed his tests. "I guess you're ready David. We'll be on a plane within the hour to Mexico City. All we're waiting on is the other two guys…" The door opened and two men walked in, still damp from what looks like the water test. "Ah, these are the two Splinter Cells that would be accompanying you on this mission. Special Agent Bob and Special Agent Steve." The three shook hands. "We go by first names and first names only okay?" The men nodded. "Now you all have experience and would usually be conducting this mission alone, however the objective in which we must secure could be in many locations and time is of the essence. All three of you would be inserted into the sewer system below the city where we think the red mercury might be located." He paused for a second. "No one knows about this little stunt and I would like to keep it that way. I'll brief you some more on the flight to Mexico." He looked nervous. "Let's go."


End file.
